No. 4 Florida State erupts in second half, rolls to 41-3 rout of Syracuse
Another week, another convincing victory, another game where the Florida State football team had to feel like it left a whole lot of yards and points out on the field.
Powered by a stout defensive effort and a slew of big plays from receiver Keon Coleman and others, the No. 4-ranked Seminoles improved to 6-0 Saturday with a 41-3 rout of visiting Syracuse. The win was FSU’s 12th straight going back to last season and improved the Seminoles’ ACC record to 4-0. But it could have been much more decisive in the earlier stages.
Quarterback Jordan Travis connected on 23 of 37 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown — and he also rushed for two scores — and Coleman turned in a brilliant performance overall. The junior receiver caught nine passes for 140 yards and also returned six punts for 107 yards.
Travis and the first-team offense had to play well into the fourth quarter, however, because the Seminoles came up empty on several promising drives in the second and third periods. It wasn’t until tailback Lawrance Toafili broke free for a 50-yard touchdown with 9:47 left, which made the score 34-3, that the starters got to relax on the sideline.
Freshman receiver Hykeem Williams then scored on a 44-yard pass from backup QB Tate Rodemaker to make the final score 41-3.
Toafili finished with 93 yards on seven carries, while starting running back Trey Benson finished with 14 carries for 74. Tight end Jaheim Bell also had a nice day with four receptions for 87 yards.
Florida State’s offense was playing without star receiver Johnny Wilson, who was unavailable after sustaining an undisclosed injury last week against Virginia Tech.
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After a sluggish end to the first half, the Seminoles took control early in the third quarter with a six-play, 70-yard touchdown drive. The big play was a 39-yard catch and run by Bell, and the ‘Noles finished the drive with a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Travis to claim a 24-3 advantage.
Florida State raced out to a 17-3 lead midway through the second quarter on a 58-yard touchdown pass from Travis to Coleman, and the Seminoles took that lead into halftime after squandering two prime opportunities to blow the game open.
First, Joshua Farmer forced a Syracuse fumble that was recovered by Jared Verse and returned to the Syracuse 5-yard line. But the offense gained just one yard on the next four plays and turned the ball back over on downs.
Then one drive later, FSU drove to the Syracuse 26 before turning it over on downs again.
Florida State took an early 10-0 lead with Travis’ first touchdown run of the day — another 2-yarder — and a 48-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald.
The Seminoles dominated the first half in total yardage, 260-97, but had just a 14-point lead to show for it.
Florida State concludes its three-game home stand next Saturday against visiting Duke.
Stay connected with Warchant for complete postgame coverage.
Talk about this story with other die-hard Florida State football fans on the Tribal Council.
